


The Boiling Demons

by Lady_Ymir



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Drug Abuse, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/F, F/M, Futa Ymir, Gore, It's actually really big but she's casual about it, Multi, Spoilers, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-12-10 01:49:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11681481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ymir/pseuds/Lady_Ymir
Summary: Basically titans are vampires in a modern world.The three walls form the Kingdom of Elysium, where people are somewhat save from them.The story focuses mainly on the "titanshifters" that secretly live within the walls, although many other characters get their fair share of spotlight.Sex likely won't happen outside of specific chapters, as I am uploading a slightly toned down version of this somewhere else.





	1. A goddess by any other name...

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first actual attempt at writing a fan fiction with the intention of putting it online.  
> I am nowhere as good as I'd like to be and I'd like to improve as much as possible, so critcism and suggestions are very welcome.
> 
> For now the story is open ended and I'm making things up as I go.  
> I do however have a general plan for what is going to happen.

_ “Hundreds of years ago god had left humanity,”  _ were the words any child, woman and man grew up with living in Elysium. Preachers instilling awe in the populace.  _ “For man committed atrocities before him. For man is envious of those that are stronger than him, he struck a deal with the devil himself. Thus began the age of the Boiling Demons.” _ __  
  
Speeches of this kind or anything related to man’s second sin, the end of days, demons and the likes dominated the government funded propaganda programs.

All day and all night, these preachers stirred up the fear of the Elysians as they started believing their own stories. These days nobody knew what was truth and what was made up. A sad state of affairs, given that the Boiling Demons in fact lived right among them.   
  
  
The apex of human ingenuity, Elysium was a kingdom separated into three circular districts, each separated by a border within the state. Massive walls, iron fences, guarded rivers and in some places even mountains and other unpassable terrain cut off the rich from the poor.   
Thousands of cities stretched past the horizon, growing tighter in density as they get closer to Sina’s Keep, the center of Elysium.   
  
The Center Circle,  **Sina** , had been the home to only the upper class citizens. Descendants of noblemen, celebrities, politicians and of course the wealthiest of merchants. The police force of Sina calls itself the Military Police, with all their men and women living within the borders of their Ring, far away from any real troublemakers of the other districts.   
  
The Inner Ring,  **Rose** , home of the middle class. Named for the fields of roses that grew around Sina’s city gates during better times. The main police force of Elysium is trained and stationed in District Rose, as is evident by the roses decorating their crest.   
  
The Outer Ring,  **Maria** , where the lower class is kept. A poor people with high crime rates. Most Marian’s won’t ever set foot on Rosen soil, let alone pass the border to Sina, to lay eyes upon the castle in its center.   
Life is affordable, however, and not altogether unpleasant. If it wasn’t for the Boiling Demons that periodically make their way into the cities, there wouldn’t be too much to complain about.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
  
Tinny rang the small radio’s speaker through  _ The Long Night’s _ lobby, as the two remaining staff members cleaned up the interior after another titular long night of excess at the nightclub.   
The male news reporter, with his voice hoarse after what must have been over half a century in front of the microphone, talked about the most recent events following a row of attempts to establish a perimeter south of Maria’s border.   
_ “And so, we honor these lost souls that dedicated their hearts to this cause. To make Elysium a better place for all of us. This is Roy Bergmann, we will be back at 10.” _

With that, the radio switched to a calm jazz tune.   
  
“Dedicated their hearts, my ass!” the massive blonde man complained as he swept the floor in the lobby, his deep voice rumbling in the club owner’s ears as she lay on the floor, head right below the sink. Her left hand tapped the floor, searching for the toolbox. “Hey Ymir. You heard that?”   
“Hand me the damned clamping thingy,” she grumbled, growing frustrated with her inability to see the tools from her position right underneath the drain.   
“You know we could just call a plumber and get it over with, right?” the man responded, leaning the broom against the counter as he stepped closer to the woman on the floor, handing her a red pipe wrench. “Also: Clamping thingy?”   
  
Sighing, Ymir opened the wrench to place it onto the nut before she closed its jaws again, clamping down. “Can’t afford paying a plumber for something I can easily do myself for free.”   
“You do you, ‘Mir.” The man gave a shrug as he turned around. “Maybe you shouldn’t screw it open while your face is directly be-” he was interrupted by a loud shriek, a splash and coughing.   
“ **EUUUUGH!** Oh.. Oh god. It’s  **everywhere** !”   
  


Rolling with his eyes, the blonde man reached out for a box of paper towels they kept at hand in case a customer spilt a drink on top of the bar. It happened once or twice a day. How exactly this woman made the cut when the previous owner decided who gets to hold the reins in case he had no further need for this nightclub, he didn’t know.   
Together, they were four people working for him before he bit the dust. All three of them more determined than Ymir to make this place work. While she did put a lot of effort into the nightclub, she was too casual about it. Taking a few shots a night herself without adding it to the tab, flirting with guests rather than serving them, and she was just horrible to some of the regulars, invasive and impolite. There were even instances where she used her pinky to pick her nose in front of customers. How she didn’t get  **fired** was beyond him.   
  
He looked over at her as she got up from the floor, hastily rubbing the paper towel over her wet face, practically scrubbing her freckled cheeks with the rough paper before bunching it up and tossing the ball towards the bin. Not into it, but at it. Leaning back to stretch, her hands ran through her dark brown hair, skilled fingers tying her unkempt mane into a ponytail behind her back, all the while revealing her toned midriff.   
Well. She did have compelling arguments.   
  
“Reiner,” she said, before her golden eyes wandered past him and she gently nodded to the left. “Do your thing.”   
His thing was throwing out unwelcome guests. His awe inspiring size with his broad shoulders and burly muscles visible underneath his shirt usually were enough to stop most people from even considering trying their luck with him. Seriously, this guy was a beast. His eyes were a slightly less vibrant shade of gold than his co-worker’s, but they seemed more serious than hers.   
When said eyes spotted the blue and white wings decorating the uniformed man’s chest in front of him, Reiner reluctantly lifted his right fist to place it on his heart. Ymir did the same, before looking at the soldier who eyed the two of them very carefully   
  
The corners of Ymir’s mouth went up as she chuckled, “No more free booze for the Wings, I’m afraid.”   
“Hmh.”   
“... A’ight. Tough crowd.” Ymir let out a drawn out sigh as she leaned against the bar. It took a moment for her to  process the things she saw in front of her. The tall soldier’s eyes were an icy shade of blue, like the clear sky in the coldest days of winter. His bushy eyebrows furrowed in surprise as four golden eyes went wide with shock when the two realized why the man did not answer their salute: The right sleeve of his beige jacket had been cut off and tied up right below the Emblem on its shoulder.   
  
Immediately they both took a step back as if someone just aimed a gun at their head. Their reaction was entirely justified with what this man represented. Before them stood none less than Erwin Smith, leader of Elysium’s elite task force. Officially named the Survey Corps, people generally called the group by their more imaginative nickname Wings of Freedom. And those Wings meant business.   
  
The air was thick with tension as they stood there, anticipating an ambush from the staircase behind them, soldiers breaking through the massive glass wall separating the office in the second floor from the rest of the club, or even just striding through the club’s front door with shotguns and riot shields.   
It was to be expected, after they executed the previous owner of the Long Night for being a Boiling Demon.   
Reiner steadily inched towards the counter where they kept an old double barreled shotgun at hand, in case anyone should prove too much trouble to be dealt with by conventional means. It was an old gun, probably fifty years old, maybe older, they didn’t know. Some day Ymir just showed up with this beauty in her hands, telling them their boss asked her to ‘ _ Fetch something a business partner borrowed a while back’ _ and that was it. No documents, no ID, Ymir didn’t even know its last owner, since she had only met his errand boy.   
But it was still operational. And boy did it pack a punch. Given a short enough distance it would cut a man in half right above his hipbone.   
Ymir proposed framing it on the wall behind the bar and naming it Nasty Bitch, but she was overruled.

 

“H-Hey. You’re not here to kill us, are you?” Ymir asked with her voice shaking. She raised both her hands in front of her chest in a protective manner while also taking another step back. Though the woman was genuinely startled by the presence of the Survey Corps’ leader in her nightclub, she merely held up an act to divert his attention towards her and allowing Reiner to get close to the gun.   
“I am not,” Erwin responded with his deep voice resonating in his wide chest. “I’ve come to investigate. I take it, you are employees of this nightclub. So you were friends with-”   
“Do **not** let that name come over your lips, Wing!” Reiner yelled, his hand finally reaching for the shotgun. “You had absolutely no right to dispose of the old man in such an undignified way!”   
“Did we not?” Erwin asked with his voice calm and collected, despite staring down the barrels of a shotgun, loaded and ready. “It was my understanding that citizens of Maria were aware they were forbidden from passing the border to District Rose unannounced. And the punishment for being a Boiling Demon is ‘staking come daybreak’ I’m afraid.” he glanced over to Ymir as she clenched her fists at what he said. “Let’s talk this over. I’ve come unarmed and unprotected. Outside this door there is no one but my driver, himself only armed with a pistol.”   
  
Her golden eyes burned with rage as Erwin glanced over at her, fists clenched so tight fingernails dug into her skin and drew blood. Yet, she knew just as well as he did, that escalating this situation would not bring back their dead friend.    
“Lay down The Bitch,” she ordered in a calm fashion, almost a glimpse of defeat in her voice. Although reluctantly, the blonde followed suit and aimed the gun readily at the floor in front of him, refusing to let down his guard entirely.   
Recognizing their willingness to cooperate, Erwin lowered his shoulders and stood relatively at ease, even offering his hand for a shake. Ymir blew some air out of her nose, showing him the bloodied palm of her right hand as she shook her head   
“You wouldn’t wanna.”   
“Would I turn into one of you?” the soldier asked concerned, not entirely understanding the process of turning a human into a Boiling Demon   
“What? A blessed one?” she chuckled at seeing the confusion in his face “No. Not without ceremony. As for turning into an Aberrant? Only if you drink it with a big helping of bad luck.”

  
His blue eyes went to the hand dripping with crimson blood. An unfamiliar feeling overcame him, seeing this woman treat wounds cutting so deeply into her flesh they gush with blood in such a casual manner. Did she not feel pain at all? Was this the reason the Boiling Demons were fighting so viciously? Did they simply not understand the concept of pain when they were shot, burnt or torn open?   
Would torture lead to any desirable goal, other than blood and body parts spilling over the floor?    
No matter if they felt pain or not. It was apparent their wounds were negligible, evident by the vapor seemingly oozing out of the woman’s bleeding flesh.   
It’s what made these creatures so damn hard to kill. Not their unbelievable durability, but their ability to simply heal all non fatal injuries they’d sustain within hours, if not seconds.   
Erwin had to admit that he was dying of curiosity to know what it felt like to have wounds close themselves, or about the reasons behind their steaming flesh.   
For a second he looked away to collect his thoughts   
  
“An Aberrant?”   
Ymir threw her hands up in exasperation and Reiner sighed

“Your men kill dozens of vampires each day, yet… You  **do** know the word  _ vampire _ , yes?” Reiner asked, deeply concerned about the course their encounter would take. Luckily, Erwin nodded “Just making sure. It’s an old word, means  _ to bite _ , I think?” he said, looking at Ymir who reassuringly nodded “Boiling Demon is a term of propaganda. We are no demons. We prefer to be called vampires. And there’s two types of us.”   
“Three, actually. But go on.”   
Reiner squinted in her direction as she said that, her hand still raised in a beckoning gesture   
“The aberrants. Those, we don’t like. The weird ones outside our cities, that eventually make it into populated places and cause havoc. They are addicted to blood and would slaughter their victims for a single drop. Then there’s the blessed ones; Like Ymir and me. The old man. We’re… Sentient for a lack of better words.”

  
Sighing, Ymir rubbed her temples as she sat down on the counter   
“Aberrants, you can kill. All of ‘em,” she explained to the soldier. “They are beyond saving and a threat even to us. The less of those around the better, if you ask me.”   
“We wholeheartedly agree on this, it seems,” said Erwin, prompting a chuckle from the woman sitting in front of him. “Although this raises the question if certain vampires like… Your ‘old man’ as you call him, do not seek out the destruction of mankind, then why did he slaughter his way into District Rose? Could he have changed?”   
“Beats me,” the two vampires said in unison, as they were entirely unsure of their friend’s motifs.   
“Could’ve had a bad day.” “Or he had a death wish.” “Maybe someone was out to get him.” “Lunatics do kill others just for fun.” “It happens in every species. It’s not the trait of a demon.” were the possible explanations they both came up after a short moment of silence.   
  
Erwin looked at them quietly, pondering over what they said. The way they put it, this whole vampire situation made some sense in a way or another. They Survey Corps was aware of the presence of peaceful Vampires within the cities of Maria, but they never fully understood what made them different from the beasts roaming the wilderness outside city gates.   
Ymir had mentioned a ceremony. Did that mean the vampires had an actual, structured society as long as they were inducted into it? Had they been hunting innocent people within the cities all these years?   
  
“What do you know about fixing kitchen sinks?” Ymir asked randomly   
“Uh.. P.. Pardon me?”   
The freckled woman snickered at his dumbfounded reaction to her completely random question, but then explained how their sink had been clogged for a while now, and told of her lacking skill in fixing it.   
  
In the meantime Reiner went back to putting the bare minimum of effort into cleaning the floor. He didn’t feel like working if his co worker was spending her time chatting with a soldier who wasn’t even a paying customer.   
From the corner of his eyes he could watch how quickly she bonded with him, pouring herself a glass of liquor as early as 9:55 in the morning. At least their guest had the common decency to deny alcohol at this time of day, little as that may mean for a glorified cop.   
As the freckled girl had finished her third shot, the music coming from the small radio died down and was soon replaced with the little fanfare of the news segment.   
“Government critics,” Erwin’s voice rang low after he recognized the tune, almost questioning their choice in radio channels.

“We don’t disagree with  **everything** you guys do. It’s not like we’re rebels tryin’ to… Y’know.. overthrow the king,” Ymir said with a slight slur in her voice from the few drinks she had. “ ’s just your  _ ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ _ kinda attitude towards us that we really hate.”   
  
_ “According to witnesses of the battle in Finsterwalde within the Outer Ring, Boiling Demons defeated the Survey Corps’ forces with only minor losses, leaving the village effectively defenseless in the face of the ravenous spawn. Commander Erwin Smith elected to give no commentary on the events, however, his second in command was available to voice her plans on retaking the village. According to these plans, the Survey Corps orders citizens of Finsterwalde to remain calm and bar their doors to starve out the assailants.” _ __  
__  
“What is this all about?” asked the stoic voice of a blonde girl from the entrance of the club. Behind the small frame of the girl stood a towering figure, easily bigger than Reiner and Erwin, yet only half as wide as either. He gently closed the door behind him and saluted upon spotting Erwin’s emblems. “Some off duty ape outside tried grabbing me and didn’t listen when I told him to let go of me,” the girl said, dusting her hoodie’s sleeve   
“I am so sorry. I tried stopping her, but he was already on the ground when I got there,” the man behind her apologised to Erwin. “Is the Survey Corps here on official business?”   
  
All eyes turned to Erwin. Ymir and Reiner just now realised they hadn’t asked the most important question.   
The soldier shook his head in response, “I am here in personal interest. With a note left by Zeke.” as expected the reactions to this ranged from anger to confusion. But he continued. “You may not like a member of the Survey Corps say his name since we are the ones that executed him. I understand that. But,” he said, reaching for his jacket's chest pocket adorned with the Wings of Freedom. “I am not here as a member of the Survey Corps, but rather as a man concerned about mankind. And it is important that we make sense of the words written on this paper,” he explained before he managed to pull a folded up piece of paper from his pocket. It had clearly seen better days, with dried blood on the edge of it and being torn around the folds from being opened quite a number of times.   
  
“What’s it say?” asked Ymir, still dazed slightly from a drink too many after a night long of hanging out with customers   
“He  _ gave _ you this?” inquired Reiner   
“I  __ took it. As per his request while he lay bleeding after a valiantly fought battle, I promise,” he explained. “It mentions you two. And I assume  **you** two to be Bertholdt and Annie.”   
The blonde girl nodded in silence as she took the note from Erwin and gave it a quick look before reading it out loud.   
  


_ November 23rd _ __  
_ It was a cold and damp today. It did rain in the morning and the streets were covered in a layer of ice. Maybe that’s why the driver lost control and crashed into that wall. Reiner and Ymir immediately jumped to their feet and pushed the car into the parking lot as Bertholdt called the Garrison.  _ _  
_ __ What a day to audition the new applicants. What a day to change my life.

_ When she walked in, I almost felt blinded by her optimistic smile. Like an angel. _

_ Such a smile, I had never seen. It was contagious, I swear. _ __  
_ Nobody smells like her. Only a few people have a distinctive smell like that. It was soothing, in a weird way. And it seemed so unnatural, yet I couldn’t imagine a perfume like this to ever be made. _ __  
_ Something about her made my heart ache, however. Why would an angel have to live in a place such as this? In the Outer Ring? _ __  
_ She must have come from Sina. Nobody that had to grow up in the rings could possibly be so divine. She must be from Sina. There is no doubt about it. _ _  
_ __ Is she hiding something? Is she truly a goddess made flesh? I can’t ask her. 

_ Something horribly bad must have happened to this blessed child. And it may have changed my world forever. I do not want to live in a world that can be so cruel to a true goddess. _ _  
_ _ We’re not blessed. We’re cursed with eternal life in such a cruel world. _

 

Afterwards, the handwriting of the diary changed a bit. It became more crude, shaggy. It seemed to have been quickly scribbled down with an empty ball pen.

__  
_ I endangered my friends trying to break this curse. I am so sorry. _ __  
_ Their names are Reiner, Ymir, Bertholdt and Annie. _ __  
_ They are good people. They will break the curse, I am sure. _ __  
_ You will need them to free this world. You need the goddess. _ __  
_ I can’t write down her name, I won’t put her in danger like this. _ __  
_ I know she can change the world. _ __  
__  
  


 

Annie dropped the paper after what felt like an eternity of silence in the room, nobody spoke  although their hearts beat furiously at what these words conveyed.

Reiner started shaking his head, while Bertholdt’s gaze went to the floor in silence.

“So the old man decided to kill himself,” said Annie with a distinct lack of emotion “Over a woman no less,” she then added condescendingly. 

“If we were mourning Ymir, I'd understand,” Reiner said and was abruptly interrupted by a coaster flying towards him. He shot the golden eyed girl an angry glance. “ _ Or _ me. But Zeke? He’s supposed to be better than that. He endangered  **everyone** for a girl.”

 

Erwin watched the four vampires coping with this information. It must be hard, he imagined, losing a friend because of his stupid actions, even risking  _ their _ lives as well.

Although he wanted to grant them a moment to collect themselves, the soldier had questions: Who was that so called Goddess. What were their stances on immortality, with Zeke obviously seeing it as a curse. What it must feel like to suffer this curse. He couldn’t believe himself how curious he was, yet there he stood, in their lair, an enemy. And all that just to learn about these creatures that fascinated him so much that he joined the Survey Corps.   
Nervously, Erwin took a deep breath before proposing an offer:   
“Would you be willing to solve this.. Riddle.. With us? With the Survey Corps? We promise it will be worth your while.”

 

“Fucking bastard nearly got us all killed!” Ymir sneered in anger, drawing attention to herself for insulting the man they all admired like a father. “That bitch better be worth it.”

“But how would we find her?” asked Bertholdt, who was usually quiet in these matters. It was a reasonable question, however. And thus, they looked to Annie, who was known to have a certain set of skills that could become useful.   
  


The short blonde had the uncanny ability to get her hands on anything and any **one** you could desire. You just had to name it, and she would work her magic, no questions asked. In return, nobody asked her how she did it.

She saved the nightclub numerous times, her deeds ranging from falsifying documents to literally taking out the competition. Sometimes she affected the nightclub more directly with income due to smuggling and dealing drugs, arms and blood.

 

She was quiet, her eyes not moving as her brain worked overtime to come up with something to start. 

“She entered the club. The note says it. He's given us a specific date. Probably a job interview. Maybe a customer.”

“Good luck finding a single guest of a whole day,” Reiner responded mockingly, but Annie shook her head

“Even if she was just a customer, I would find her. But,” her bright blue eyes looked at him sternly. “Can we count on your reliability as a bouncer to not let every fake ID in? I hope that number’s still a single digit?” she asked, in reference to the girl in question seemingly going by a fake name. Reiner rose his hand in protest but didn't find any words, as he would never let someone with a fake ID get past him. And after years he had gotten good at spotting them. “Likely not a guest, then.” she stood up and held open her hand. “Office keys?”   
Ymir pushed herself off the counter and grabbed the handle of a green mug before she straightened her back, “I’m coming with. Didn’t sift through the old man’s stuff yet, ain’t going to miss out on this.”   
“You’re incorrigible,” Reiner grunted in response.   
“You know it!”


	2. ... Would be as divine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I actually had this chapter finished months ago, unfortunately ADHD is making proof reading an ordeal.  
> In fact, I have already written big parts of chapters 3 and 4 and I hope to upload them in time.
> 
> Now to sum up the chapter without taking too much away:  
> We're learning a bit about what makes the Boiling Demons such a big threat to humanity with Reiner, Bertholdt and Erwin.  
> Meanwhile, Annie gets the rare opportunity to see Ymir making an honest attempt to be a good person.

Bertholdt looked after the two girls when they left for the kitchen leading to the backrooms. As they disappeared around the corner, he turned around to spot Reiner who had now discarded his broom and started emptying the dishwasher. Bertholdt knew the blonde hated doing the dishes, but having him beat quite a bit in height, it was a very welcome gesture that his back was rather thankful for.   
“Pardon me if I am being too direct, but your arm,” the tall black haired guy said gently. “You are Erwin Smith, am I right?”   
  
The soldier responded with a nod, his left hand gently touching the tied sleeve covering his stump. He had grown used to the curiosity regarding his arm, especially since he was still the Commander of the Survey Corps. However, his proficiency in combat was never the reason why he became their leader in first place. No. His predecessor was a harsh man, sending his soldiers to their death with no regards for their lives as he himself cowered behind the front lines. While Erwin was still ordering his men to march into their inevitable doom, he led the charge himself every single time. And thanks to his wits he came up with countless strategies to boost the Corp’s survival chances. Nowadays, only a third of the Corp’s skirmishes led to heavy losses. And all thanks to him.   
  
  
“How did it go down? The battle with Zeke,” Bertholdt continued, catching Reiner’s attention as he took some glasses out of the dishwasher and wiped them dry with a white towel.   
“I shouldn’t tell you this,” the Commander explained calmly. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. “He reached the border at precisely 10 pm, on the 14th of december. In the dark of the early night, he got the jump on the garrison. The shifts had just changed, so they were ill prepared for such an aggressive attack,” Erwin told them as if he was reading the reports out loud. In fact, he had read them several times and they all stated exactly what he just said. Additional notes included the absolute disregard for the lives of every soldier, from what they first assumed to be a terrorist. “According to everyone involved, he was armed to the teeth; crammed each and every weapon he had gotten his hands on into a rented truck. The vehicle in question, a grey van, was modified with steel plates welded onto critical weak spots. Engine, tires, side windows,” he continued, his voice calm. “It was unlike anything the Garrison had ever seen, I was told. No matter how many times they shot this makeshift tank, it wouldn’t stop. When the Survey Corps arrived, Zeke had already breached the gate atop the ravine.”

  
“Hmh. I’ll be damned. He made it to Rose,” Reiner chuckled, but fell quiet when Erwin gave him a stern look “I’m sorry. It’s just.. Nobody from Maria has ever stood on rosen soil uninvited. The Old Man lived the dream.”   
“The Garrison lost 32 men to this  _ dream _ , you should know,” the soldier’s voice grew tense as he said this. ”After he crashed through both gates, his vehicle broke down and he ran, shooting every man in his way. He  _ ignored  _ two shotgun blasts to the chest and several bullets hitting his arms and legs. Soldiers broke their swords as they struck him.”   
“Armored Skin,” Bertholdt said. As he saw the puzzled look in the soldier’s eyes he elaborated, “It was one of the blessings bestowed upon servants of the goddess. These days it is a very rare ability.”   
“How rare?”   
“One in a thousand, maybe less,” mumbled Reiner, still drying the glasses with the piece of cloth. “Chances are you’ll never have to fight it again. Aberrants do not carry blessings.”   
“Blessings, again. Do you demo- Ahem,” Erwin cleared his throat once he remembered they didn’t like being called demons. “You  _ vampires _ , I apologise. Do you really believe to be blessed by a goddess?”

  
Bertholdt went quiet, wiping the sweat off his brow while he resumed sweeping the floor, Reiner however pondered over this question and put down the towel.   
  
To them, their inhuman abilities were blessings. Blessings given to them by the first vampire to walk the earth. A girl that sold her soul to the devil hundreds of years ago. At least that is what every vampire would say when the topic arose. Nobody knew if this was true or not, and some even rejected the idea, electing their own theories as to why they existed the way they did.   
“Zeke believed it. So do Annie and Ymir. They’re the smartest people I know, so..” Reiner threw his hands up in the air, as that was his best answer. “Maybe it is true. We just call ‘em blessings because we always did. Since back when this whole thing started. Back when everything was a blessing. A mother surviving the birth of her child. A good harvest.”   
“I see,” the soldier nodded. “And this armored skin is one such blessing. How strong is it?”   
“Depends. Some vampires have hotter blood pumping through their veins than what you usually encounter. Skin so hard it breaks swords? That’s uncommon.”   
“Captain Levi managed to penetrate his armor at some point. Maybe it gave out?” the soldier shot Reiner a questioning glance, but didn’t receive a response. “Eventually, Zeke took to melee combat with a sword. According to Levi, whenever Zeke swung his sword, steaming hot blood spilled  **everywhere** . It got on his uniform and dripped onto the ground, I don’t even want to imagine it. As time went on, he says, the steam formed thick clouds around Zeke. And instead of growing weaker, he just became more ferocious. Zeke gave him the hardest fight of his life. He doesn’t say something like this lightly. I doubt anyone else could have defeated your friend.”

  
The two vampires didn’t say a thing as they imagined their friend’s last battle.   
While they were near impervious to physical injuries, burning through their reserves was a feeling that could strike fear into most any vampire. Once they were bleeding, their bodies would kick into overdrive to prevent more blood loss. Their wounds healed quicker, their pain vanished, their muscles grew stronger, their blood would quite literally start to boil. In this state, vampires were both at their toughest, but also their most vulnerable. It was this reaction to blood loss that made aberrants so vile.   
Hearing their best friend, their role model, had possibly turned into one of these mindless beasts before his death was painful. There was no way to die with less dignity.   
  
  
“At some point, the steam seeping out of his wounds made it impossible to anticipate his movement. The only reason he was defeated is  **because** Levi is humanity’s finest soldier… Zeke seemed to see this and gave up. I am here because he requested to give his kin a chance. He said that not all of you are bad and that he could not take this injustice any longer. Whatever that meant. After he told me of the note in his glove box, he bared his chest voluntarily and I drove the stake through his heart.” Erwin watched Reiner closely, who couldn’t believe what he heard. It almost looked like the vampire wanted to say something. But he didn’t. “Zeke remained silent until his death when the sunlight hit him at 8am.”

  
Reiner bent forward to close the dishwasher after he dried the last mug with his towel. Hearing this story, imagining the last minutes of his friend and mentor’s live felt strange. In all those years that he learned from the Old Man, Reiner would have never thought that this cautious person would bring about his own death. But now they were made to believe he was  **seeking** death. That he longed for it.   
He took a deep breath as he reached for the shotgun once again, his hand wrapped tightly around the grip as he brought it up in front of Erwin, aiming the barrels right at the commander’s chest.

  
“I am not buying this bullshit!” he yelled and grit his teeth as his finger dangerously squeezed the trigger “Zeke was like a damn father to each one of us! He took care of us and this nightclub! For over thirty years he did! And just because you bring us a piece of paper that says he’s gone bonkers you think I’ll believe you? I will fucking  **KILL** you, if you don’t come clear with me!”

  
Bertholdt seemed just as startled as Erwin did, who was, for the first time this month, scared for his life. The black haired vampire dropped his broom before carefully climbing the steps leading away from the dance floor and towards the bar   
“Reiner. Calm down,” the gentle giant ordered in a voice so soft that it was almost drowned out by the sounds of heavy breathing. Just as Erwin thought that no one could hear words spoken so softly, Bertholdt gestured towards the gun and Reiner lowered it.   
Only now did Erwin allow himself to close his eyes. He had been too shocked, too surprised, too startled to miss out on a single piece of Reiner’s body language by blinking. He sighed in relief while the black haired vampire moved past him.   
  
Bertholdt shook his head as he moved his tall frame behind the bar, where his best friend was still trembling with anger, muscles tense, his fist tightly clutching the shotgun. Only when Bertholdt placed a hand on his shoulder and calmly asked for the weapon, did Reiner seem to ease up.   
“You should look after the guy Annie beat up. She floored him really hard,” Bertholdt suggested as his thumb slid the lever atop the shotgun to the side, unlocking it. Before he continued, he looked up. “Reiner?”   
“Alright,” he eventually grunted. “Gonna make sure he doesn’t have a concussion.”   
  
When Reiner made his way towards the entrance, Bertholdt flipped open the shotgun to remove the unfired shells. He clearly didn’t want anyone to  _ accidentally _ kill the leader of the Survey Corps over some irrational outburst.   
“You must forgive him his anger. Zeke was his hero ever since the first time they’ve met, “ he said, placing the shells onto the bar counter. “Can I interest you in a drink of your choosing? It’s on the house, after…  _ This _ .”   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
The two girls left for the back door leading to the main storage where they kept disposable cups, alcohol and various non perishables for cooking. The keys to the nightclub were jingling as Ymir had the ring hooked on her finger, twirling it around while they were walking towards the heavy office door.   
“Think we’ll find that chick?” the brunette asked, using her thumb to slide the keys along the ring   
“It’s what I do. Finding stuff and hauling it to my client.”   
“Oh yeah. Speaking of which,” Ymir said, trying the first key she thought to be the right one, only to fail at turning it “Did they have any?”   
“Not the ones you wanted. I just bought the biggest they had.” Annie responded, pulling a pack of condoms from her hoodie’s pocket and tossing it at Ymir   
The freckled girl eyed the blue packaging carefully, reading the measurements and put them into her pocket, sighing. “Well, thanks anyway,” she mumbled before going back to her keyring business.   
“Oh come on, Bertl felt inadequate when he saw what size you needed. You  **cannot** be serious.”   
“I didn’t want to drag you into this, but they stopped selling them here and you just happened to be near the next Colossal-mart.” she explained, trying the second key which then opened the door. Celebrating this tiny victory, Ymir opened the door with a hip check “Anyway, thank you. How much do I owe you?”   
As the tall woman reached into her pocket to pull out a wallet, Annie raised her hand and shook her head, gesturing no.   
“I’m paid when I deliver the agreed upon goods, Ymir,” the short blonde explained while following into the office’s modest lobby. There was a small wooden table with a few newspapers and magazines to the right of the door, and a water dispenser to the left. Normally this tiny room did not find much use. However, given certain circumstances when they had to separate guests from one another, be it because they started a fight or someone was injured and in need of medical attention, these guests would be led in here.

The room wasn’t very pleasing to the eye, but it served its purpose well for how little use it saw.   
  
A staircase lead up the the employee’s break room with a little kitchen unit complete with a coffee machine, microwave and fridge. They had two big couches placed around the corner of a big table to sit or lie on. On the wall rested a few folding chairs they rarely used. Right next to those were some boxes of replacement lights and bartender equipment, obstructing the view to a whiteboard covering the wall. It had crudely drawn penises on it.   
  
“Someone asks you for.. Say… A 200 year old ceremonial dagger, never used in combat. You make an estimate?” Ymir asked the blonde while filling the coffee machine’s tank with water from the sink “Then they give you the money you need?”   
“And when I deliver it, I get paid.” Annie said, sitting down on the soft cushion of the couch “Why the sudden interest?” she asked quietly as her bright blue eyes followed Ymir’s every move. The freckled woman had absolutely no problem reaching for the coffee in the upper shelf, something Annie had to climb a chair for. She didn’t want to admit it, but at times she was a bit envious of her tall friends. With very rare exceptions, she almost never met an adult that was as short as her, at 5 feet tall. Her best friends however were all at least a foot taller than that. Ymir was easily the tallest woman she had ever seen at 6’2”, and Bertholdt made even  _ her _ look average.   
  
“Eh. ‘s Nothing, really,” Ymir replied, sliding the water tank back into its slot. “I’m just thinkin’ since I own this place now, I might need your services sooner or later. Gotta get familiar with how you guys work, after not bothering all these years,” she admitted while turning on the machine   
“ _ We _ didn’t refuse to cooperate. In 30 years you never took a chance to get involved with us.”   
“‘Cause I’m a jerk, Annie. We go along well because we avoid one another.”   
“We  _ live _ together,” the blonde groaned, rubbing her temples in response to their conversation. Ymir had always been quick to come up with excuses why she didn’t do shit. Usually it revolved around her being an irredeemable asshole and how she was actually doing them a favor by not being near them. She was really good at twisting even the worst insults into something positive. Annie had to admit that the brunette was great at manipulating others.

  
Ymir let out a sigh as she hit various buttons on the coffee machine, punching in her order for a mug of steaming hot, extra strong coffee. After the display started blinking, she put her green mug below the nozzle and let the hot liquid drip into it. Meanwhile she firmly planted her behind on the counter next to the coffee machine, to look at Annie who had just taken a breath to continue her lecture.   
“Look, I don’t care. Bertholdt and I can run this place without you lifting a finger. Just.. Have the decency to  _ pretend _ you wanna help.”   
“I  **do** want to help.”

“Sure,” the blonde hissed dismissively as she leaned back on the couch, lifting her right leg to rest her foot on her left knee “I don’t even know  **why** I’m granting you the benefit of the doubt here, but if you are serious about this, stop getting drunk-”   
“But!”   
“- during your shifts. Get completely wasted on your days off, Ymir. Nobody. Gives. A shit.” Annie continued without giving Ymir the chance to interrupt “Don’t hit on paying customers. No. Wait. Don’t hit on  _ any _ customers,” she immediately became even more specific, knowing the brunette too well, “Don’t hit on anyone  **at all** , damn it.”

  
Ymir’s head dropped low in defeat. The Annie was right. As the boss of a nightclub she couldn’t just go around flirting with a pair of pretty eyes, or breasts, for that matter. She shouldn’t pass out in the back room after pregaming all afternoon. She shouldn’t just disappear when her attempts at scoring with a girl actually were successful. She shouldn’t attempt scoring to begin with.   
She somehow felt dirty now that she thought about what kind of person she was. But it was unlikely she’d ever manage to change.   
“And no matter how attractive the girl we are trying to find might be, keep  _ it _ in your pants, or so help me, I will cut it off with a jackknife.”   
Ymir was intrigued to give a snarky response, but the genuine fear Annie would follow through with her threat just made her swallow hard.   
  
The coffee machine gave a faint beep to announce its task finished and so Ymir hit the power button, hooking her fingers into the handle of her green mug and lifting it to her lips.   
She wasn’t exactly drunk, but she felt a bit drowsy from the night before and the two or three shots she took while talking to Erwin clearly didn’t help. The scorching hot coffee would certainly help getting her mind back on track.

  
If she started drinking to cope or not, she couldn’t tell. All she knew was that she had developed a strong affection to the stuff years ago. At first it wasn’t too bad, drinking a beer or two with the guys as they watched sports on the tv at weekends.   
But with time her drinking became more frequent and soon developed into an actual problem.   
If she didn’t know why she started drinking, she knew why she continued to this very day. And it was indeed a coping mechanism. She hated admitting it, nobody mentioned it, but they all knew.   
  
She took a big gulp from her steaming hot coffee, the bitter taste and the stinging heat on her tongue sending shivers down her spine.   
“Plans about that bitch, Annie?” she asked when she finally swallowed what seemed like liquid fire.   
Annie was scribbling down words into her little notebook as Ymir asked her, not answering for a few seconds while her brain did its thing. Her friends knew not to distract her when she was thinking; she was rather perceptive of her surroundings and could recite an entire poem read to her while not taking her mind off of the task at hand.   
The girl was both quick and nimble, but also smart. Nothing got past these pale blue eyes.

  
“We will figure out her name. Then we will find her. Interrogate her if necessary, see if she’s actually from Sina,” the short girl pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking. “If she’s not, big deal, nothing changed, we keep living our lives as we did for the past thirty years. At the off chance that she however  _ is _ from Sina...” Annie tilted her head, looking at the words she just wrote down, letting her hands fall into her lap in defeat. “Fuck if I know.”   
“Probably part of nobility. Or maybe related to someone famous. How about the daughter of what’s-his-name, the commander of the Unicorns? Bet  _ that _ sack of shit’s got some skeletons in his closet.. Or she’s just some rich bitch and gambled it all away.”   
“Whoever she is, getting exiled into the outer ring must mean she  **really** messed up.” Annie mumbled quietly. “Probably deserved it, too.”    
All of a sudden, Ymir’s pupils narrowed in shock at the words she just heard. The tall woman involuntarily grit her teeth as she stared at the blonde, her furrowed brows making her look even more menacing than usual, while her amber eyes seemed to burn holes through Annie.

In all these years, Annie had never seen this much emotion in the brunette’s stare. Whatever she just said must have bothered the tall woman. Concerned, she got up from her couch. “Ymir?”  
  
The brunette just jumped off the counter and onto her feet. Mug in her right hand she slid her hands into her pants’ back pocket to pull out her office key as she made her way to the massive door to her office.  
“We’ve been dealt a shit hand in live, Leonhardt. You ‘n’ me. Bertl and Reiner. Your father and Zeke. Kids in Finsterwalde that ain’t gonna make it to next week. Our. **Fucking**. Goddess; The bitch we worship as we’re drinking the blood of innocent people,” the tall woman said, anger gleaming in her golden eyes as she put her key into the hole, almost breaking it with how tight her grip got. She turned it in the lock. “We’re the last people in this rotten craphole of a kingdom, that should assume bad things happen for a reason. Don’t you fucking **ever** do that again, Annie!”  
  
After Ymir took a few seconds to calm herself she gave the door a hefty shove with her shoulder to force it open, almost stumbling into the big office.  
“That’s as close as you’ll get to sounding profound, isn’t it.”  
“Go fuck yourself,” Ymir quipped despite the anger she felt that moment. “You wanna check his diary first? See if that page is legit?” she asked casually walking up to the wall of glass opposite from the door. The freckled woman could see her own reflection in the polished glass, watching the short blonde stepping up behind her, arriving just in time to see Reiner lower the shotgun. As Ymir opened her mouth, she could already see Annie shake her head.  
“You didn’t bet on it. Save your breath.”  
“Damn it!”  
  
Even though Annie was a professional, the girl liked engaging into Ymir’s odd shenanigans from time to time. She wasn’t as much of a boring prude with a stick up her ass as she pretended to be. Quite the opposite, actually.  
She loved kickboxing and went to the gym every other day just to train. As barbaric a sport it was, she loved beating up people that willingly got into the ring with her. And with a single exception, there was nobody that could possibly hold a candle to her.  
It was a good way to let off steam, too. And it proved to be quite the handy set of skills in her line of work.  
  
As Ymir kept staring out the window into the nightclub, Annie turned around and faced the other wall opposite of the window, looking past the couch table, at… **It.**   
Ymir had made demands several years ago to have her office chair be replaced by nothing less than a throne.  
If Annie didn’t know better, she would think it was meant to compensate for something.  
It was gigantic. Too big to properly sit on. It was so enormous that it had steps leading up to it. Ymir herself wouldn’t just sit on it, but actually used it to lounge on.  
It was in fact so out of proportion that it could easily compete in width with the 4-person couch facing it.  
That throne just _screamed_ Ymir. It was so her.  
It was dominating the room with its mere presence. It did not fit in with the other furniture, sticking out like a sore thumb. It was intimidating. And it contained a safe.  
  
Annie jumped over the couch table and walked up to the side of the throne, removing the slate hiding the safe. Only her, Ymir and Zeke knew the combination. Although now it was only her and Ymir. Once she entered the combination into the electronic lock, she opened the door and looked at the various contents of questionable legality:

Three duffel bags, two full of drugs, one stuffed with cash, her address book, a rifle, an entire three-dimensional maneuver gear with gas tanks and blades, two flip phones, a green ring box and.. Zeke’s diary.

 

  
Zeke’s desk stood at the far end of the room. It was a massive desk made of oak, that looked almost as much out of place as Ymir’s throne. It had chairs for clients on one side and a comfy executive chair in arm’s reach of all drawers and documents on the other.   
  
While Ymir was still looking at the window as if it were holding all the answers to mankind’s unsolved mysteries, Annie already sat down at the desk and cleared some space by shoving aside several documents. There were envelopes scattered all over the place, both untouched and ripped open, unpaid bills and supply manifests from what seemed to be up to 8 months ago.   
Annie grew frustrated the more backlog in paperwork she saw, dating back to even before Zeke left the Nightclub fully in Ymir’s hands. Great. She tended to avoid jobs like this, no matter how well they paid. Badly done paperwork was bound to make it so difficult that it just wasn’t worth the effort. But did she really have a choice this time?   
  
“ _ I’ll make her fix this mess. Be it the last thing I do, _ ” the blonde mumbled to herself, grabbing the heavy ledger sitting in the middle of the desk, open and visible for any curious eye that wanted to take a look. She deliberately closed it with a heavy smack, startling Ymir at the other end of the room. “You want to take responsibility? Do your job this weekend and fix those numbers. File those documents. Pay the bills. I don’t care how you do it, but if we get busted for tax evasion after all we’ve done… After all  _ I’ve _ done,” she explained to the confused looking woman, not taking her eyes off the folders inside the drawer that she just opened, trying to find the one containing the job applications.    
She had just laid them out on the desk as Ymir responded to her request:   
“Yeah, sure. Mind if I give you a call if I need help?”   
  
  
Now, this had taken Annie by surprise. Usually the brunette would have come up with some ridiculous nonsense just to avoid such tedious work. Was she actually growing up? Did she just ask for  **help** ?   
She never asked for help. Usually because she didn’t do her job in first place. But also because she approached idea with the nasty concept of debt. Annie, who should know better, found herself owing the brunette several favors by now. She had to sign formal IOU’s. Ymir even started accounting for severity of the help she had given. Like paying a ticket for speeding when Annie was short on cash. Apparently that was worth 20 favors. And the blonde dreaded the day all these favors would be turned in. Goddess knows who she’d have to kill.   
At least it was a double edged sword, according to Ymir. Too bad she avoided owing people as much as she avoided chastity.   
  
  
After a bit of uncomfortable silence Annie swallowed hard. She really heard Ymir ask for help. She wasn’t just imagining things. So she looked up from the folder she just flipped through and responded, “If you take it serious, I’m going to help you. But you have to bear the brunt of it.” her eyes followed Ymir as the woman walked towards the desk, nodding. Something felt wrong. Felt off. Annie herself was quiet and brooding most of the time, but seeing Ymir like this was something else. One could never know what went on inside that shaggy haired head of hers. “November 23rd. There’s three papers, one Hannah Kefka. Female, married. 22 years old. Born in Freud,” Annie read out loud. “That’s a rosen girl.”    
“You think she’d be dumb enough to write down where she’s from if she is hiding?” Ymir scoffed. “Not the smartest girl. Must be pretty as fuck if she got this far in life.”   
“She lives in Reiss-Klamm now, works there as a jeweler. That’s about half an hour from here. Give or take. I’ll have Bertholdt look for her… Then there’s Mina Carolina. Female, unmarried. 21 years old. From here, actually.”   
  
Ymir tilted her head, trying to remember where she heard this name. Mina. Mina rang a bell.   
“What is she like? Name sounds familiar. Cute smile, right? Black handlebars?”   
“She has black… Uh, pigtails? Why would you call them handlebars?” as the blonde saw Ymir’s shit eating grin, she just closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “ **What** did you do with her?”   
“What  **didn’t** I do with her?” she laughed loudly. “All I know is that the girl is  **no** saint. ’s as rotten as me,” the brunette purred in a husky voice and then added, ” Although, she’s got a heavenly sna-”   
“Too. Much. Info.”   
“Tch,” Ymir scoffed. Then she nodded with an even bigger smile.   
“Fine,” the blonde murmured. “Since you can’t keep your dick in your pants,  _ I _ am going to look into her. Which leaves you and Reiner with Krista Lenz.”   
  
Ymir leaned over the desk when she heard that name. She liked it, in a weird way. 

_ Krista Lenz _ .

 

“Lenz, like spring?” she asked while she let that name echo in her head. She chuckled when she saw Annie’s puzzled expression, icy blue eyes looking at her as if to ask what she meant. “It’s a word of the old tongue. There was a song when I was a kid,” Ymir cleared her throat before breathing in “  _ ‘Veronika, Veronika, der Lenz ist da. Veronika, der Lenz ist da. Die Mädchen singen ‘tralala’. Die ganze Welt ist wie verhext. Veronika, der Spargel wächst’  _ ,” she sung the short melody for a few seconds. However, the voice she used to sing was so unlike her that Annie almost wondered if she was dreaming. If she didn’t know any better, she’d believe to have witnessed the beautiful voice of a goddess. A voice she would expect from Krista who’s photo smiled at her with her angelic features. But instead it came from the dry lips of this vulgar, nasty demon that called itself Ymir. “It was actually pretty kinky for the time, now that I think about it.”

  
When Annie didn’t respond to her, Ymir snapped her fingers before her eyes. “Don’t tell people I sound like a cute little girl when I sing. I did that because we’re good friends and I trust you. I don’t wanna revoke that trust.”   
“Yeah. Of course. I.. Uh,” she stammered. ”I was just surprised because… That didn’t sound  **anything** like you. You’re crass. Uncouth. And rough. Raw. The way you speak, I expected you to sound like a belt sander when you sing.”   
“.... No offense, huh?” Ymir asked with a grin on her lips, to which Annie smiled sheepishly. “None taken,” she said reassuringly. Eventually, she clapped her hands together and looked at the application paper. ”So! Spring girl. What’s her deal?”   
“Krista Lenz. Female, unmarried. 19 years old. Born in Wehmut.”   
“I get to take Reiner to Wehmut? Shit, I am so going to order a longsword there. They make  _ the _ best blades in all Maria. We’re gonna have a field day.”   
  
Although Ymir seemed to be extremely excited, Annie just  _ had _ to lower the freckled woman’s expectations. While Annie was well aware of the extraordinary craftsmanship of swords from Wehmut, the city was located in West Maria, roughly a 7 hour car ride away. Obviously, if Krista was still living there, she wouldn’t be looking into a job at their night club.   
In fact, according to this paper, the girl had moved to their town about a year ago and worked for a retirement home ever since.   
  
Annie showed the brunette her picture: A photo taken inside a booth, the blonde girl in question smiling happily. Normally Ymir would call bullshit on that, but on that photo Krista’s smile seemed genuine. As if she was excited taking this photo inside a photobooth. Her eyes were wide open, blue like crystals and with tiny specks of azure in them. They were the bluest eyes Ymir had ever seen, making even Annie’s and Erwin’s seem dull in comparison.   
  
Silently, the freckled demon stared at the tiny picture and could almost feel tears welling up in her eyes. The girl was  **that** beautiful.

  
It almost hurt her to look at the photo.   
Now she fully understood why Zeke lost his will to live.

  
It was a cruel world they lived in.   
One that made a goddess live among demons.   
  
  



End file.
